slf-uk

Chris, Great haul, I hope you left something for my next visit Iain

Happy birthday Mark, have a great day. Best wishes Iain

Look great Alain, you are doing a fantastic job. I am jealous of your workshop space, looks like you have plenty of space to work on your machines. Iain

From memory, in order to identify the engine year from the serial number it needs to be in the format of 4 numbers and a letter. This one has only got the four numbers however taking just the 4 numbers it would suggest that it was made on the 084th day of 1970 This is the Bolens tag

Thanks Dave. The 1254 with the Tecumseh is in storage at the moment but I am now itching to have a very close look. A while back you and Alain provided some really helpful advice on dating Tecumseh and Wisconsin engines but the engine in the red 1253 is not in that format, how easy is it to date a Bolens from the tractor serial number? I am assuming that the 1253 is a 1970 but it would be good to verify and try dating some of my other Bolens, where I do not have the engine serial number or where I am unsure if it has had an engine swap. Thanks Iain

Great line up Tom, it is always good to line them up for a few photos. That John Deere looks good with the others. Just noticed that you have turned the rear wheels around on the JD, much better I am sure Andrew is right about adding a Bolens to the collection but I can't think of anyone that needs to thin out his collection... Iain

Looks like you had a good day Chris. The black car in one of the pictures looks very much like a wolesley 8. You don't see many of those about due to crank end float issues. I have one with a good engine waiting for restoration. Iain

Tom, you will have to come and try mine, I know you really want some more Bolen seat time They are great to use but not a lot of fun to fit as they are very heavy. Iain

Andrew, it will stay red for the moment as my assistant loves the colour. I did think that a 1253 was only made for one year (1970) and had a Tecumseh engine and a 1254 had a Wisconsin engine, but it is not that easy as I have a 1254-06 which also has a Tecumseh engine. Very confusing, I will need to look at Dr Bolens's article and then do some research. The Tecumseh in the red 1253 does not have a serial number in the easy to identify format so I may not be able to date it from the engine. Really want the other red Bolens at John's as it is a 1054 and I don't have a running 1054. I decided to put the red Bolens to work today but when I went to start it the starter stuck. After a bit of investigation I found that all the bolts were loose on the engine, not just the starter and it had a homemade fuel tank holder. After raiding the parts shed and attacking it with a 1/2" spanner everything was back to how it should have been and ready for use. The PO said he paid a local engineer to go over the wiring. Very interesting as all the additions to the wiring are in household flex. It may be easier to throw a new wiring harness into it. Iain

Both the painted one and the rat version look great. Now you have to make another one Iain

Just as I add another red tractor to my collection everyone is dumping them. I never have been one for following the trends Iain

Chris, you will need to move that hydraulic lift kit to which ever tractor you fit this attachment to, either that plenty of weight lifting training. A set of rear wheel weights is a help too to stop the tractor standing on it's nose. I can't see a lift bar, let me know if you need the dimension from mine in order to make one. Iain

Philip, you did a great job moving the tractor and it looks so much better out in the light. Great pictures from Alan too. Iain

You need to give them Bolens a chance to settle, they have only just moved this way.

It is good to see pictures of some old equipment, thanks for posting them

Engage diff lock and some weight on the back, easy for the Bolens.

Very nice Chris, exactly the same as mine. Great attachment and really heavy Iain

Better picture of the red tractor. Iain

Looks great Ian and take care with that back. Iain

Sounds like a great plan, I think it will clean up well. Don't forget the pictures once it has been cleaned up. I would love to take it for a spin at some point. It's been a good day in Norfolk but I am not sure what we are going to do once we have finished bringing all the good ones home Iain

Alan, absolutely need another red one, one is never enough Clearly white was not a good colour for many Bolens owners. I think that people loved the features that come standard on a Bolens but not the colour. In addition to the red one, I have two that have been painted yellow, a black one and four blue ones. In my mind that means I need at least another red one and another black one too. Tom, I did ask him twice and he did say no more . Iain

Wow Tom, that looks great and 10 times better than the pictures in the advert. Are you planning to clean it up and go over it mechanically or a full restore? Iain

A tidy red Bolens 1253 non runner with a few bits missing turned up on the usual auction site. A number of people on this site asked me about it (you know who you are ) and I passed on some advice fully expecting them to bid for it. In the end they decided not to so I hit the button and won it. I collected it last night from Suffolk and it turned out to be the same person I bought a Bolens G10 from a few years ago. They promised me that they had no more hiding away. While I was waiting at a level crossing in the middle of Stowmarket for the London to Norwich train to pass I took a picture of it smiling at me. Today I unloaded it from the trailer. I usually use my tri-axle Ifor Williams trailer for tractor collections but this time I thought I would try something different, a Ifor TT85 tipper. I thought I was going to get a nosebleed being up that high. It was not as easy to load and I resisted the easy unload button . This picture was taken as we were about to unload this morning with my assistant already climbing all over the tractor. We pushed it into the workshop, did some work on the electrics, fuel system, fitted a new drive pin in the axle and drove it out. My test driver doing the first run, well actually all the driving This red Bolens jumped ahead of all the others waiting for a bit of workshop time but my lad loves it, which I think is down to the colour. He said it looked a bit like a Wheelhorse, only better The rear tyres on this tractor are nearly completely worn out. I have never seen that before although I did find the diff. lock seized on so that could explain it. Iain

Great to see some big toys too. Iain

Alain, Looks like you are making great progress and it is looking good. I assume you are painting it with a gun on a compressor and that by reducer it is what we (well me anyway) would call thinner. I would be really interest to know more about the types of paint, reducer and spray equipment you are using. Iain